Connect the Dots

by Denise Robbins

  “Don’t fucking move,” Jake growled low and threatening as he pressed the barrel of his Glock against the head of the second man, relieving him of his sidearm.

  The other man went for his weapon holstered at his hip when Jake whacked the guy over the head with his gun sending him to his knees and aimed the pistol for the other man’s head. “I will shoot.”

  Stuffing the guard’s weapon in his waistband, he bent down, Glock in direct line with the man’s gonads and slid the second man’s gun out of his holster, pointing both of them at the standing man.

  “Secure his hands,” Jake ordered the conscious guard.

  As the man squatted down to do his bidding, he jerked the hood off his head. The dark haired man glared at him with eyes the color of coal.

  “Where is she?”

  The guard shook his head as he clasped the cuffs over his unconscious partner’s wrists.

  Jake slammed his pistol into the temple of the black-eyed man and demanded, “Where is she?”

  He pointed to the door for the stairs.

  “Pick him up. Carry him down there and show me.”

  The guy refused to move.

  “Now.” He pressed his point with the barrel of his gun.

  The guard picked up the other man in a fireman’s carry and shoved open the door, sending it banging against the wall.

  “Don’t do that again unless you want to die right here, right now.”

  After two flights of stairs, the man was breathing heavy under the weight of his partner, but Jake didn’t give a damn. On the next landing, the guard stopped.

  Jake peered out the small glass pane and verified there was no one in sight. Then he opened the door and ushered the man through. The guard stopped at the fifth cell down on the right.

  “Hurry up and unlock it.”

  As the man yanked a key ring from his belt and slid it into the door, Jake constantly scanned the hallway. Hearing the lock give, he jerked on the handle and shoved the guy in ahead of him.

  “Hiya!” She sprang up from behind the door wielding a large sack.

  The two men went sprawling with Charley on top. Relief swamped through him, quickly replaced by concern. He rushed to shut the door and keep her screams from alerting whoever else may be on duty.

  When he turned, he saw her struggling with the two men, alternately pounding on the back of the unconscious one and trying to strangle the pinned man with her shackles. “Where’s your weapon? You’ve got to have a weapon.” Her voice desperate and demanding, Jake heard the tears.

  He deposited the guard’s gun into the back of his pants, then slipped an arm around Charley’s waist and hauled her up.

  “No! No!” She struggled, kicking and biting. Her head connected with his and he dropped her on her ass.

  “Shit!”

  Before he could speak, a foot swept around his ankles and tugged. His arms flung out, he grabbed the door and regained his balance before he hit the floor.

  “Damn it, Charley! Shut up!”

  He heard her sharp intake of breath and watched as her head snapped up, her mouth agape and realization sunk in.

  “Jake! Oh, Jake!” She jumped to her feet and hopped over to him, flung herself at him, her shackles rattling in front of her.

  He caught her, wrapped his free arm around her waist, and whispered into her ear. “You have to be quiet.”

  Under his touch, he felt her go stiff, watched her lips thin, and clamp shut. Thank goodness.

  “How did you?”

  “Shh! Later.” He kissed her forehead, steadied her and left her to attend to the two men on the ground.

  Jake shook his head in surprise and grinned. They were both unconscious. With swift movement, he took the cuffs from the one guard and secured the other man’s hands. Then he ripped one of the hoods in half and used the material as gags on the two men.

  “Get the keys,” Charley yelled in a whisper behind him.

  He grabbed the keys and tucked them into a pocket. Standing, he turned toward Charley and pulled her into his arms for a hard hug. She was in one piece.

  “Let’s get out of here.” He stepped back.

  “The keys.”

  “No time.” Jake hauled Charley up and over one shoulder.

  “I can walk.”

  “Sit back and enjoy the ride. Take the gun back there and don’t hesitate to shoot. Got it?”

  “Got it.”

  Sliding the door back a couple of inches, he checked the hall. No one.

  “Here we go.” He pulled the door back far enough to get through and then shut it behind him and took off back the way he came.

  At the entrance to the stairs, he stopped, listened then moved. Three flights up, he paused again before opening the door. With Charley slung over his shoulder like a rucksack, he rushed toward the door and the awaiting Waldo when a man’s voice came from a side corridor.

  “Put the girl down.” A tall, gray-haired man dressed in a blue jacket appeared in front of him, blocking their escape.

  Jake halted, not because of the command the man had issued or even because he obstructed his exit, but because of the gun the man aimed at him. He did not want Charley shot. The man seemed familiar. Who was he?

  “Put the girl down.”

  Jake slowly levered Charley to her feet and held her tight against his chest.

  “Now drop the weapon.”

  He hesitated, but did as instructed.

  “Some hero you have there, Charley.” The man sneered at her.

  “You know him?”

  “Jake, meet Ambassador Miles, the man in charge of US relations with Republic of Georgia and Kyle’s boss.”

  A movement outside caught his attention.

  “We would really love to chat, but we have a plane to catch.” Jake stepped forward, one arm grasped around Charley’s waist.

  “Very funny.” The Ambassador cocked his gun and aimed it in the direction of Charley’s head.

  He held onto Charley even tighter, preparing himself, and reached behind her back to the weapon tucked into the front of his waistband. Then he waited for the signal.

  Jake shrugged. “I thought so.”

  The signal came in the form of a hydraulic releasing as the handicapped door swung open behind the Ambassador. Jake pulled Charley to the ground, tugging the weapon out of his pants as he hit the floor. When the Ambassador swung to see who was coming in, Jake fired a shot hitting Richard Miles in the upper-left quadrant. Someone returned fire. Bright red blood splattered the gray walls. The Ambassador dropped to his knees holding his chest and aimed to shoot.

  Waldo fired again.

  Jumping to his feet, Jake hauled Charley up, swung her over his shoulder and sprinted for the open door and Waldo standing there with a smoking gun.

  “Hurry!”

  FIFTY-THREE

  Charley did not think she breathed until Waldo had the plane in the air.

  “Jake.”

  He was issuing orders to Waldo and did not answer her. Waldo. She still couldn’t believe he was here. With Jake. They came for her.

  “Jake!”

  His head swung back to face her and his smile warmed her.

  “Can you please get me out of these restraints?”

  “Oh.” Crouching, he moved toward her tugging the keys out of his pocket.

  His large, rough hands cupped hers as he tried the various keys until he located the right one and the shackles clanged to the floor.

  She grasped each wrist, rubbing her fingers over the raw black, blue, and red abrasions. When the ankle cuffs fell away, Charley gasped as Jake stroked gentle fingers across the skin.

  “Are you okay?” She looked away from her wrists and into Jake’s moss green eyes. In his gaze, she saw a mixture of fear, desire, and apprehension. “Did they…” His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down several times. “Did they…”

  Charley touched his cheek, hushed his question with her thumb on his lips. “No.”

  Jake buried his
head in her lap and she brushed his chestnut hair. “I have never been so frightened in my life. I was afraid I lost you.”

  Tears surfaced in her eyes and blurred her vision. She wanted to weep, but not yet. It wasn’t over.

  She swallowed her tears. “I was afraid too,” she admitted.

  Jake sat up on his knees and pulled her into him, wrapped warm arms around her and held on. “Do not ever do that to me again,” he whispered into her ear.

  A bubble of laughter escaped her lips. Which was exactly what Jake intended, she knew. “Can I get out of these clothes? They stink.” The orange jumpsuit reminded her of the ordeal more than it smelled bad.

  Waldo chimed in from the pilot’s seat. “There are some clothes in the back under the bench. They’ll be big, but at least they won’t be orange.”

  Jake reached over to the bench seat, tugged a drawer open and pulled out a pair of khaki pants, a pair of white socks, and a cobalt blue sweatshirt. Getting to his feet, he held out a hand and helped her up. “I’ll give you my belt to keep the pants from falling to your ankles.”

  “I heard that,” Waldo hollered from the front.

  Grateful for Jake’s strength, she held onto his arm tight as he walked her to the small executive bathroom.

  “Do you need any help?”

  She shook her head. “I can manage.”

  He kissed her forehead. “Yell if you need me. I’m just going to go make a call.”

  “Who?”

  “My boss.”

  “The secret agency guy?”

  Jake’s lips lifted at one corner. “Yes. Now go change. We’ve got a lot of talking to do but we can do it once you’re comfortable.”

  She nodded and stepped into the lavatory. When she looked into the mirror above the small sink, she froze. Her reflection revealed skin that was ghostly pale, hair knotted and tangled, and a red scratch appeared across the bridge of her nose. She hardly recognized the gaunt eyes staring back at her.

  Unzipping the vile, orange jumpsuit, she worked it down her body and stepped out of it, leaving it where it lay. When she reached for the faucet, she saw the bruises on her right arm then checked the other. She gasped. Her left arm was worse. Turning around, she tried to get a look at her backside. The mirror only went to her waist but she saw the marks on the side of her ribs.

  When she faced front again the brunt of what she had been through hit her full force. She stepped back in retreat, bumped her leg against the toilet and fell, landing on the lid with a cold thud. She covered her mouth and wept.

  There was a knock on the door. “Charley. Are you alright?”

  She nodded, but of course, he could not hear her. She opened her mouth to respond when the door flung open. Reflexively, she wrapped her arms over herself covering as much of her as she could. It must not have been enough because Jake’s face reddened and his jaw muscles worked.

  “What the hell?” He walked in, scooped her up, and set her on the sink. “Let me see, sweetheart.”

  Charley shook her head.

  With a reassuring kiss, Jake eased her fingers away and exposed the bruises and cuts. She looked away from him, biting her lip, shutting her eyes in escape. He uttered a number of expletives and she bit down harder.

  She felt his hand cup her cheek and turn her head so her gaze met his. “Don’t you ever hide yourself from me.”

  She bobbed her head.

  “The bruises will heal and the cuts will mend. When I get my hands on the people that did this to you…”

  Charley pressed her fingers to his mouth. “No. We have to do this the right way. The legal way.”

  His forehead touching hers, he kissed it.

  “Hold me, Jake. Please.”

  His arms wrapped around her, barely touching her. She needed him, needed his strength, his warmth. “Please, Jake, I need you to hold me. Love me.”

  He took a step back from her and peered into her eyes. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “You could never hurt me,” she reassured him. “Show me you love me. Show me I’m yours and that I’m still alive.”

  His hands cradled her face and he stepped into her, brushed a light kiss on her lips, then kissed her eyes, her nose, her cheeks, and came back to her mouth. A low hum vibrated through him as he deepened the kiss and pressed his tongue into her mouth. She leaned into him as their tongues danced. She craved more.

  Her hand slid down his chest, past his hard abdomen and felt it jitter under her touch, but she kept on going until she cupped the length of him in her hand. Jake released her mouth and growled into her ear. “I love you.”

  The smile and glazed look Charley gave him let him know she did not want him to stop. She needed to be reassured that she was alive. He understood. He could give her that. Stripping quickly, Jake moved back to her. He kissed her until a moan escaped her lips. Yes, she wanted him.

  Afraid to touch her and cause more pain, he ran an open palm across her breast. The nipple pebbled in response and Charley’s legs squeezed against his hips. He bent and suckled the other breast, lathing it with his tongue. Her fingers raked along his back.

  “Oh, Jake.”

  Reaching between them, he skimmed his hand up her thigh, sliding a finger into her. She was slick and warm. When he slipped two fingers inside, Charley arched her back and moved her hips forward, closer. He took the offered pink nipple and scraped his teeth across it, nipped lightly then tugged. As he did, he felt her muscles contract around his fingers.

  “Please,” she panted.

  “Whatever the lady wants.”

  Jake stood, placed his hands under her tender bottom and tugged her to the edge of the vanity then scooped her into his arms. He backed up until his calves made contact with the toilet. Then he sat down, pulling Charley onto his lap, wrapping her slender legs around his waist.

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yes.”

  Slowly, inch by inch, he slid her onto his erection until she accepted all of him. Gripping her waist, he lifted her up and down, up and down, until he thought he would lose control. But he couldn’t.

  Then Charley took over. Her hands clasped behind his neck, she moved her hips, stroking him faster and faster, seeking release. She tightened around him. Sliding a hand between them, he found her hot spot, caressed it.

  “Open your eyes, Charley. Open them and look at me.”

  She did.

  “Oh, Jake.”

  “That’s it, sweetheart. I’m here.” She was wet and slick, rocking against him.

  “Take me over.”

  Staring into topaz pools, he seized her hips and thrust upward, meeting her stroke down. Her breath caught as he impaled her again. The third time, she clamped her lips to his, and convulsed, taking him with her into the abyss.

  Her heart beat against his chest, a rapid pulse of desire and spent energy. Then she was crying on his shoulder.

  “Oh, Charley.” He soothed, running a hand over her hair and down her back. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  Her head shook against his shoulder and she pushed herself to a sitting position. “You didn’t hurt me. You loved me.” She sobbed.

  “I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  Holding her face in his hands, Jake held her steady and looked at her. “Marry me.”

  She blinked several times.

  His heart in his throat, he held his breath and waited for Charley to answer him.

  Then she beamed at him, lighting up the small room with her smile. “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  “Yeehaw!” Jake whooped.

  Charley giggled and he squeezed her to him. “Ouch.”

  He let her go. “Oops. I’m sorry.” Scooping her butt into his palms, he stood them both up. “Let’s get you cleaned up before I hurt you some more.”

  FIFTY-FOUR

  Instead of going home, after they landed in New Hampshire, Jake drove her and Waldo to Mickey and Ruby’s place located in an old mi
ll building in Manchester. Once there, the three of them took turns showering and then dressed in borrowed clothes. Actually, Waldo had brought extra clothes he had stored on the plane.

  Now, the five of them sat around the cherry table in the kitchen eating area drinking coffee and munching on fresh cinnamon rolls.

  “So let me get this straight,” Jake’s boss, Mickey started. “US Ambassador Richard Miles may or may not be dead.”

  “Yup,” Waldo and Jake said simultaneously.

  “We didn’t stop to check,” Jake finished.

  Michael’s gaze met hers. If not for Jake’s comforting arm around her waist, Charley might have tried to escape. “You know for a fact the he was the one who put you in that prison? And you also know the first prison was in Georgia?”

  She swallowed and spoke. “Yes, sir.”

  “The name is Mickey, not sir.” He grinned at her and Mickey’s features softened, and she relaxed.

  Charley inclined her head. “Mickey.”

  “We also know that Ambassador Miles used Blackwater International and their plane to transport Charley out of the country.” Ruby added to the conversation.

  “The Ambassador also admitted that he was the one who murdered Kyle.”

  “Who’s Kyle?” Mickey asked.

  “Charley’s ex-boyfriend and another CIA operative,” Waldo answered and took another sip of coffee.

  “Kyle was assigned to the Republic of Georgia under Ambassador Miles to work with Blackwater on stabilizing and building the Silk Road energy corridor.”

  Mickey pushed back a chair and stood, raking a hand through short dirty-blonde hair. “So your conclusion is what?”

  “Do you have a piece of paper and a pen?”

  One of Mickey’s eyebrows jumped up in question.

  “Just get her a pad and pen,” Jake told him.

  Without another word, he spun away from the table and left the room.

  Ruby stretched a hand across the table and touched one of Charley’s. “He is really lovable. He’s just frustrated that this could be going on. He wants to shut it down.”